A lot of the work I do with my GT students is problem solving. (I have shared before my 7 super solving strategies poster, but here it is again if you haven't seen it.) My classes this week have been working on the first box - Choose an Operation. I use a few different resources to find problems (past Math Olympiad, Singapore Math - 70 Must-Know Word Problems, Scholastic's Math Word Problems Made Easy.) My favorite resource is probably "Introduction to Problem Solving Grades 3-5" by Susan O'Connell. This resource has sample problems for each problem solving strategy at different levels. Some can take a
whole clas period! If you purchase this resource, it comes with a cd-rom of the activities which makes your teaching life easier (the problems have space to explain their thinking too!)
My 5th graders got a problem that wasn't in any of these but was a quick blurb in an old Mailbox magazine. Each group got an index card with a number 1-10 on it. They had to use 3 or 4 4's (AND ONLY 4's) and PEMDAS to find the answer on their index card. To make it easy on you, here is an answer guide (but keep in mind for many there is more than one way to solve it.) 6 and 10 pose probably the most challenge so consider who you give those numbers to.
My 5th graders got a problem that wasn't in any of these but was a quick blurb in an old Mailbox magazine. Each group got an index card with a number 1-10 on it. They had to use 3 or 4 4's (AND ONLY 4's) and PEMDAS to find the answer on their index card. To make it easy on you, here is an answer guide (but keep in mind for many there is more than one way to solve it.) 6 and 10 pose probably the most challenge so consider who you give those numbers to.
If your students like the 4's challenge, then consider purchasing the game 24. The game has cards at beginning, intermediate, and challenge levels. Every card in the whole box equals 24 by adding, subtracting, multiplying, and/or dividing the 4 numbers pictured. There are other variations on the game too with different boxes (single digits, double digits, fractions, and more.)